HTML5/WebGL vs Flash in 3D Visualisation
Due to the recent technological developments and advancements in the field of computer graphics, and by following the great leap of the web-based technologies such as the greatest iteration and upgrade yet of the HTML to its new variant HTML5, we are experiencing a burst on the scene of the new architectural representation methods that aid in the visualization process. New technologies, both web-based and methodological-based, have not been fully understood and implemented so far, leaving a great unexplored space for the developers and the people involved with the process of the digitalization and 3D visualization to grasp in order to use the full potential of the today’s technological advances. This paper is dedicated towards introducing the new technologies available for the 3D visualization and investigates their implementation on the web, with a focus on the comparative analysis of the emerging web technologies for the 3D rendering and visualization, as oppose to the current methods of 3D graphics implementation (Flash).Additionaly, the purpose of this paper is to empower the usage of the new HTML5 supported tool called WebGL and to use its full potential while delivering the 3D visualization to the web. The user study was carried out and the results revealed that HTML5 had a significantly higher impact as opposed to Flash. This indicates that Flash is no longer meeting the purpose of rendering demanding 3D graphics content and providing quality user interactivity, whilst HTML5/WebGL should be highly utilized in the future as the primary technologies for delivering 3D graphics to the web.